5-5 in the Majors
The agreement described here is not commmon to most forcing club systems, but it does fit well with the style. We no longer need an opening bid of 2NT to describe a balanced hand with 20-21 points, so we can use the bid for a hand that is sometimes difficult to bid. Consider using an opening bid of 2NT for hands that have at least 5-5 in the majors.
How often do you hold a hand with two 5-card majors? The mathematicians of the game say that we hold such hands approximately 5.5% of all hands. That's actually pretty often.
Most of the hands that fit this agreement should be in the 11-16 point range, but you can open with as little as 10 points, and sometimes even 9 points, but only if you have better distribution, such as 6-5 or 6-6 in the majors. Also, you are not limited to 16 or fewer points with this particular call. Be careful with light openings, especially if you are vulnerable, because you are committed to play at the 3-level or higher.
If you have a minimum point-count, it's a good idea to have all of your points in your two suits!
This is an excellent example of the bid:
, hoping to rebid your heart suit later, you will give the opponents a lot of bidding room before
you get the opportunity to bid again. By the time the bidding returns to you, you might be too high to show the
heart suit.
Responsive Agreements
Responder Bids a Major at Either the 3-Level or the 4-Level
Most of the time these two responses should be passed because your partner assumes you have the normal point-count range. However, you can open 2NT with far more than that, and if partner tries to stop at the 3-level, you can push it to game. If you have a strong hand, and partner wants to play game, you can explore for a slam.
Responder Bids Either 3
or 3
- A 3 response, which is the lower minor, indicates an interest in a heart slam, the
lower major
- A response of 3, the higher minor, shows an interest in a spade slam
or 3, and you
have a minimum point-count of 10-14, just jump to game in the agreed suit. Partner might still push on, but
now she knows more about your hand.
-
When you have a good hand, and partner is interested in slam, you have a couple of choices for your rebid:
- Bid 3NT as keycard Baby Blackwood
- Cue-bid the other major to show first-round control in that suit
- Cue-bid either 4 or 4 to show first-round
control in that minor (either an ace or a void)